John Sherwood

At Calvin, John Sherwood '15 took his engineering degree—and the liberal arts—seriously. Now his hard work is paying off: He's working toward a PhD in environmental engineering at Clemson University with a National Science Foundation fellowship.

Current role: Environmental Engineering PhD student at Clemson University, South Carolina

How did your Calvin education prepare you for a career in engineering?
I’m not sure I’m a career engineer! My path is much more interdisciplinary. I’m picking up a lot of economics, math and computer science in grad school. One day, I might head to seminary and study the theological implications of sustainability. But this is exactly Calvin’s strength—the liberal arts core and inherent interdisciplinarity at Calvin taught me how to learn. I am incredibly thankful for my well-rounded Calvin transcript; I know I can branch out into new fields because I’ve done it before. (That, and I’m a more well-rounded person overall.)

What’s one thing you would want to tell someone starting their journey at Calvin?
Find a way to work with your professors—they’re really smart! But seriously, take the initiative and ask for a TA, research position or other department job. It’s great experience and will look good on a resume. Also, absolutely take the professional writing class. Writing is probably the single-most undervalued skill in the workplace. If you learn to write well, you’ll definitely do better in your career.

What about Calvin specifically prepared you for this next step in your journey?
Calvin taught me that I can work through tough problems. I was never a 4.0 student—not in high school, not at Calvin. Some classes scared me; I distinctly remember failing my second calc II test. But each Calvin professor personally encouraged me and challenged me to succeed. Everyone at Calvin is so passionate about what they do. The Calvin community taught me how to be a better student, researcher, person. In any other college environment, I would not be on my way to a PhD with a premiere fellowship from the National Science Foundation.

What’s one thing that surprised you about Calvin?
This is an after-the-fact surprise: After living in rural South Carolina for two years, I miss the location of Calvin! And I’m surprised I didn’t fully realize how awesome Grand Rapids is while I was there. The area is so bikeable, rent isn’t too bad, ArtPrize is awesome in the fall. And snow. Snow was rough because of the few minor accidents I got in, but I genuinely miss Michigan winters … Enjoy it all while you can!